Dispensationalism and the Doctrine of Election
Refutation of Calvinism, Arminianism, and Covenant Theology
Chapter Eight "Now...In Christ"
Paul’s epistle to the Romans provides us four chapters of inspired Scripture that give us great insight into the doctrine of election. Like Ephesians chapters one through three, these four chapters in Romans are critical to the continuation of the revelation from God in the Old Testament books. In order to understand what God is saying in these four chapters of the epistle to the Romans, we must be very careful to bring the context of what the Old Testament books teach regarding the doctrine of election and transpose that context on these four chapters because these four chapters are transitional regarding God’s dispensational plan for the nation of Israel. Since we must begin somewhere in these four chapters of Romans, let’s begin with the first eleven verses of chapter eight.
"1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Romans 8:1-11).
These eleven verses fall within the context of the doctrine of sanctification that began in Romans 6:1 and extends through Romans 8:39. They are teaching about the outcomes of salvation, not about requirements for salvation. These three chapters of Scripture detail the operations of the Spirit of God in and through the life of the believer beginning on the Day of Pentecost. Why is this important to understanding the doctrine of election? Understanding the context of Romans chapter eight as Paul’s conclusive teaching that began with positional sanctification in Christ in chapter six and moved into progressive or practical sanctification in the enabling of the indwelling Spirit in chapter seven, now moves to ultimate sanctification or glorification in Romans chapter eight. Therefore the predestination of Romans 8:29 is not referring to lost people elected by God and predestined to be saved. The predestination of Romans 8:29 is referring to saved people who become the elect of God “through faith” (Eph. 2:8-9) being predestined to glorification, or ultimate sanctification.
Progressive (practical) sanctification is the doctrine of spiritual growth measured by change towards conformity to the image of Christ. Being conformed is not defined by outward conformity, but by inward transformation supernaturally enabled by the indwelling Spirit of God (by grace) to obey the will of God that is revealed through the Word of God. Spiritual growth is measured on three fronts:
The Three Fronts of Spiritual Growth
1. Head (intellectual knowledge)
2. Heart (emotional, passionate commitment to obedience “from the heart”)
3. Feet (becoming doers of the Word and not hearers only)
We might outline the doctrine of sanctification (spiritual growth through the supernatural enabling of the indwelling Spirit of God) in Romans 6:1 through 8:39 as follows:
I. Answering the question, “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound” (6:1-23)? Key verse is 6:3.
A. The responsibilities of the believer’s new position in Christ regarding Sin (the Sin Nature; 6:1-23).
B. Three key words to practical sanctification:
1. Know
2. Reckon
3. Yield
II. Serving in the “newness of the spirit” and the problem of the “flesh” (7:1-25). Key verse is 7:6.
III. The enabling grace of God in the indwelling Holy Spirit fulfilling “the righteousness of the Law . . . in us” (Romans 8:1-39). Key verse is 8:2.
The one word that is critical to understanding the transition from Romans chapter seven and the “therefore” in Romans 8:1 is the word “now.” How quickly we read past words without really seeing their enormous significance. This little word “now” carries with it overwhelming theological significance for New Covenant believers. This word takes us back to Romans 5:1-2, “1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” There is “now no condemnation” in “this grace wherein we stand.” This “now” is the New Genesis “in Christ Jesus,” which is also the “grace wherein we stand.”
“Now” refers to the Dispensation of Grace (the Church Age). “Now” that God is propitiated and the believer is saved “by grace through faith,” justified, the “old man” has been “crucified with Christ,” we have been baptized with the Spirit of God into “the regeneration . . . in Christ Jesus” and, we have been indwelled (sealed) by the Spirit of God, there is “now no condemnation.”
Although the Law still condemns sin, it does not condemn us and, although we still possess an “evil” Sin Nature that greatly hinders us from living to the glory of God, there is “now no condemnation.” We will sin everyday. We will fail God everyday, but there is “now no condemnation.” This statement brings us into the theological depth of our position “in Christ” and the basis of our future hope “in Christ” (Romans 8:11); “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” The believer is “now” predestined to this reality.
The doctrine of Grace is primarily pneumatological (Pneumatology is the study of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit). All that the Holy Spirit does is “good” (Rom. 8:28) and what He does cannot be undone. Unlike Adam’s original creation, where God breathed into him “the breath of life” (the Holy Spirit) and Adam “became a living soul,” “now” the believer can never lose the Spirit again and, therefore, the regenerated believer can never again be separated from God (Rom. 8:31-39). “Now” the Spirit of God has taken up permanent residence in the believer’s body; “for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5b). In the Old Covenant, God’s presence was with the believer. “Now” God’s presence is in the believer.
“15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he {presently} dwelleth with you, and shall be {in the near future, referring to after Pentecost} in you” (John 14:15-17).
This statement of Hebrews 13:5b (“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”) refers specifically to God’s election of both Israel and the Church “of the firstborn” (Hebrews 12:23). “Now,” in the New Covenant “in Christ,” election takes on a significantly fuller meaning. God had promised His continual presence “with” Jacob and Israel.
“10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of” (Genesis 28:10-15).
Jacob named the place where this event took place “Bethel,” the house of God (Gen. 28:19). I doubt if Jacob ever imagined that God would one day dwell in the human bodies of His redeemed.
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you” (I Corinthians 3:16)?
“19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (I Corinthians 6:19-20).
What God had promised to Jacob (elect Israel in Jacob, Gen. 32:28), He would later promise to all the children of Israel.
“1 And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel. 2 And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan. 3 The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said. 4 And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed. 5 And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 7 And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. 8 And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:1-8).
“Now” (Rom. 8:1), in the New Covenant, this promise of God’s presence with Israel is extended to the Church and it extends to a much deeper level. “Now” God is in the believer and the New Covenant believer’s body becomes the
actual Temple of God. God no longer merely lives with believers; “now” He lives
in them. “There is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are
in Christ Jesus.” It is the indwelling of the Spirit of God that unites the “born again” to “the regeneration . . . in Christ.” This indwelling is the Seal of God that preserves the believer in this new state of existence “in Christ.”
The word “now” reveals a major dispensational transition and also refers to the complete deliverance belonging to the believer “in Christ Jesus.” This deliverance goes beyond the salvation of the soul from Hell. This deliverance also gives the believer the indwelling Holy Spirit Who is able to deliver the believer from the corrupting influence of his fallen nature (“body of death”).
“24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin” (Romans 7:24-25).
Therefore, Romans 8:1 transitions to our ultimate sanctification “in Christ Jesus,” i.e. our glorification (Rom. 8:30). The “no” in the “no condemnation” phrase goes far beyond the condemnation of our souls due to the fall. It also refers to the fact that the corruption of our fallen natures, even though our fallen natures continue to be part of who we are, they do not continue to corrupt us in the eyes of God. God has been propitiated for every sin our Sin Natures would ever produce inwardly or outwardly (I John 2:2). The “born again” believer needs never again look to the future in doubt or fear of condemnation. Glorification is the next event on the horizon of our new existence “in Christ Jesus.”
The phrase “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” in Romans 8:1 appears to be a qualifying statement. There is much glamour about whether or not these last few words in Romans 8:1 are actually in the Greek text. There is considerable textual evidence that these words should be here and are in the Greek text.1
The MSS evidence for the six words are:
1. Textus Receptus [the King James Bible came from this Greek Text]
2. Most other witnesses (The proof is that of over 5,336 MSS, the majority agree with the King James reading of Romans 8:1.)
A few more MSS agreeing with the King James reading are:
1. Alexandrinus
2. Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis
3. Codex Athous Laurae
The following minuscules [lower case MSS]:
1. 81
2. 629
3. 2127
The following Old Latin MSS:
1. Demidovianus
2. Augiensis
3. Speculum
4. Bodleianus
5. Harleianus-Londiniensis
The following versions:
1. Vulgate
2. Syriac Peshitta
3. Gothic
4. Armenian
The following Church Fathers:
1. Victorinus - Rome
2. Ambrosiaster
3. Ephraem
4. Basil
5. Chrysostom
It appears Paul is saying that only those “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” are those that have “no condemnation.” What he is actually referring to is evidence of regeneration and the supernatural energizing of the believer to produce God-kind righteousness through his body. Those without this manifestation of the evidence of the indwelling Spirit are excluded from the promise of “no condemnation.” It is not that salvation is in any way based upon the believer’s performance, but that the truly “born again” believer will manifest the reality of the indwelling Holy Spirit by walking or living “not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” This statement is similar to what John refers to in I John 3:7.
“2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 4 Whosoever {habitually} committeth sin {habitually} transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in him {habitually} sinneth {linear present active indicative} not: whosoever {habitually} sinneth {linear present active articular participle} hath not seen him, neither known him. 7 Little children, let no man {habitually} deceive {present active imperative} you: he that {habitually} doeth {present active participle} righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous” (I John 3:2-7).
Romans 8:2 begins with the first of four fors. Romans 8:2, 3, 5, and 6 all begin with the Greek word gar (gar) translated "for" on each of these occasions. The word gar (gar), translated for, assigns a reason or explains a previous statement. Each use of the word for in these four verses builds upon the previous statement adding additional weight and explanation to the original statement. The fact of “now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (“the regeneration”) is based upon the reality of the two contrasting Laws spoken of in Romans 8:2.
1. “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (“the regeneration”)
2. “The law of sin and death” (the condemnation or curse of the first creation due to the Fall)
The word “law” in these two uses is from the Greek word nomos (nom'-os). Both uses refer to governing principles. The overwhelming truth of Romans 8:2 is that of the supremacy of “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” as the new Federal Head of “the regeneration” as it abrogates “the law of sin and death” over the “born again” believer, that believer is “now” completely delivered from the cursed Adamic family of mankind. “The Law of sin and death” is connected to the cursed Federal Headship of Adam and all his descendents (Rom. 5:12). “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” completely disconnects the believer from the cursed genealogy of Adam and connects the believer to the genealogy of Christ through regeneration and the believer’s future glorification.
Romans chapter eight is about the believer’s responsibilities regarding how he lives his new life “in Christ” after he is “born again.” As I Corinthians 15:58 says, that new reality comes with some very serious responsibilities.
“51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (I Corinthians 15:51-58).
“The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” overrides and supersedes “the law of sin and death” in Adam. This is the spiritual and theological truth upon which the statement “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” is founded. It is a solid and “sure” foundation. “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal {see II Cor. 1:22; Eph, 1:3 and 4:30}, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (II Timothy 2:19).
The second “for” begins the statement of Romans 8:3-4 giving additional explanation to the original statement of Romans 8:1. The statement of Romans 8:3-4 is connected to the statement of Romans 8:2 and expands upon that statement. The “law” of Romans 8:3 refers back to the “law of sin and death” in Romans 8:2. In a broader sense, it refers to the weakness of the Mosaic Law to deliver anyone from the weakness of “the flesh” (fallen man’s carnal propensity for sin). All that the Mosaic Law could do was condemn the sinner (Rom. 3:19-20). The Mosaic Law could never empower or enable the fallen creature to obey its commandments to the extent spiritual life could be produced in any way similar to what “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus can do.
On the other hand, where the Law was weak and incapable, God’s grace was strong and capable. “3b God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:3b-4). God’s curse was upon the fallen nature of Adam, now infected with the satanic seed of selfishness. That fallen nature, and its satanic seed (“sin” in verse 3 above), were passed on to all of Adam’s descendants (Rom. 5:12) seminally through men. Christ Jesus was sent by God “in the likeness of sinful flesh,” but without a Sin Nature. Jesus had no earthly father and therefore did not possess a Sin Nature. Jesus was born sinless and lived sinless throughout His life.
In the crucifixion of Christ, God separated the Sin Nature from the sinner and satisfied His wrath (He was propitiated; I John 2:2) by putting the curse upon the sinner’s Sin Nature upon His sinless incarnated Son. Jesus completely and substitutionally bore the eternal wrath of God upon the Sin Nature in His body at Calvary and thereby propitiated God’s wrath upon sin.
“21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (I Peter 2:21-24).
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (I Peter 3:18).
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (II Corinthians 5:21).
II Corinthians 5:21 refers to practical God-kind righteousness being supernaturally produced by the Spirit of God through the life of the regenerated believer. Christ having been “made . . . sin for us” opens the spiritual door for the Spirit of God to indwell the believer. “Made” in II Corinthians 5:21 is from the Greek word ginomai (ghin'-om-ahee). The idea is to become. I do not believe this is referring to the imputation of righteousness (or justification). I believe this goes beyond the imputation of righteousness “in Christ” to the potential of practical God-kind righteousness supernaturally produced through the believer’s life by the indwelling Spirit of God. This is exactly what Paul is saying in Romans 8:4; “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” This was never even a possibility prior to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the Age of Grace. “Now . . . in Christ Jesus” the fulfillment of “the righteousness of the law” is a possibility in the regenerated believer’s life if that believer will “walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” This, of course, refers back to what Paul has already said in Romans 6:11-13.
The next “for” of Romans 8:5 connects to the previous statement of Romans 8:4. The word “after” in both uses in the phrase “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” refers to that which is joined. How we “walk” (live) joins or unites us practically to either of these two existences; the realm of the “flesh” or the realm of the “Spirit” (the believer is positionally and eternally joined to the spiritual realm of God’s existence the instant he is “born again”). The “flesh” and the “Spirit” in Romans 8:4 refer to two different realms of existence. The “flesh” refers to this temporal “under the Sun” cursed existence of the Adamic original creation. The “Spirit” refers to God’s eternal existence “in Christ” referring to “the regeneration” or the New Creation “in Christ.” The intent here is the difference of preoccupation practically in life between the unregenerate and the regenerate person. The unregenerate person is preoccupied with the pursuit of the physical and temporal things of this world. The believer is commanded to completely separate his desires from the things of this world because those things are merely temporal and unimportant. The realm of the Adamic original creation is no longer the realm of existence the believer is supposed to practically live within. This should be an evident reality in a true believer’s life. The believer that does not disconnect from the realm of the “flesh” will continue to live in the realm of death of the original creation and the Spirit of God will not enable that person to produce God-kind righteousness (spirituality) through his life.
“15 Love not the world {the original fallen creation presently under satanic dominion}, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (I John 2:15-17).
“They that are after the Spirit” (Rom. 8:5; those “born again” and practically living enabled by the indwelling Spirit of God) will be preoccupied with “the things of the Spirit” (the eternal things of “the regeneration”). If a regenerated person is being progressively sanctified (separated unto God and service to God by habitually yielding his will to the indwelling Spirit of God), that reality will be evident by that individual becoming more and more preoccupied with “the things of the Spirit.”
This brings us to the fourth “for” in Romans 8:6; “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” The statement of Romans 8:6-7 is connected to the statement of Romans 8:5. It continues with these two evidentiary realities; carnality or spirituality. The person that is “carnally minded” is still practically connected to the temporal existence of this fallen creation and its ultimate destruction (“death”). That connection may very well be evidence of that individual still being unregenerate. It certainly is evidence of carnality. In either case, this person’s life will never produce anything spiritual or eternal. A carnal connection is a connection to “death” and the cursed original creation. Spiritual life (spirituality) and God-kind righteousness cannot in any way be produced through that connection.
The word “minded” in Romans 8:6 is from the Greek word phronema (fron'-ay-mah) referring to a mental inclination or the direction in which one thinks. I have always said you fall in the direction you lean. A mental inclination that leans towards carnality to any degree is an inclination that leads to “death” in producing any kind of spirituality. On the other hand, a mental inclination that leans towards spirituality is an inclination that leads to “life and peace” (“peace” refers to unity with the Godhead). This does not seem to be too difficult a choice. These are two radically different outcomes. It really comes down to what we believe in. We will invest ourselves, our lives, and our substance in the reality in which we believe.
As Romans 7:14 says, “the law is spiritual.” However, due to the fallen state of mankind, no one can obey the law from the heart. All people are by nature “carnally minded.” Even though we are positionally sanctified “in Christ,” that reality has not fully delivered us from our fallen state of being “carnally minded.” Practical (progressive) sanctification is the supernatural working of the indwelling Spirit whereby He enables the yielded believer to “be spiritually minded” resulting in God-kind righteousness (spiritual “life and peace”) being produced through the believer’s life.
This idea is expanded upon in Romans 8:7-8; “7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” The word “enmity” is from the Greek word echthra (ekh'-thrah). It refers to a hostility or hatred. This describes every man’s attitude towards God and the things of God apart from faith and the working of the Holy Spirit. Yet, it even describes the attitude of the believer when he is “carnally minded.” To live with a mental inclination towards the things of this world in fact equates to hostility and hatred towards God. Unless that “carnal mind” (the fallen Sin Nature) is completely yielded to the indwelling Spirit, it will never be “subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
The total submission of the believer’s will to the indwelling Spirit is the first step towards practical sanctification and “life and peace.” Those refusing (or failing) to yield their wills to the indwelling Spirit are those referred to in Romans 8:8 as being “in the flesh” and not being able to “please God.” The words “in the flesh” mean to live or think like an unregenerate person being preoccupied with the things of the Adamic, cursed original creation. It is absolutely impossible to live or think carnally and still please God in anyway. Thinking one can produce some kind of righteousness that is pleasing to God through the power of “the flesh” (the “old man”) is in fact carnal mindedness. That kind of thinking is equally sinful, contrary, and hostile to Who and What God is, especially His righteousness.
Romans 8:9 leads the believer into the reality of his new existence “in Christ Jesus.” “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” This is a statement of fact regarding the believer’s new position “in Christ Jesus.” The words “in the flesh” and “in the Spirit” refer to two different mystical unions. “In the flesh” refers to the mystical union of the dominion and Federal Headship of Adam, the curse, and the fallen nature that comes from the Fall. “In the Spirit” refers to the dominion (Lordship) and new Federal Headship of Jesus Christ in “the regeneration” wherein the believer becomes a “partaker of the divine Nature” (II Peter 1:4) in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and baptism with the Holy Spirit into the “body of Christ” (I Cor. 12:13; i.e. “the regeneration”). The baptism with the Holy Spirit into the “body of Christ” is an eternal union that can never be changed. This is true of the indwelling of the Spirit of God as well (Heb 13:5b). These two realities refer to an eternal and mystical union with Christ in “the regeneration.” This connects contextually to what Paul has already said in Romans 7:1-6.
“1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. 4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter” (Romans 7:1-6).
As Romans 8:9 says, this is the believer’s new reality “if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.” The word “if” makes a shift in the focus regarding empirical evidences to the reality of the “if” that this union with Christ has taken place. The reality of this supernatural event (position) should manifest itself in a radically different manner of living (practice). If a professing believer does not possess the Spirit of God, “he is none of His” (Christ’s).
Now, in Romans 8:10-11, the focus of the text transitions from the believer possessing the indwelling Spirit to the manifestation of that reality in the believer’s life when the indwelling Spirit of God possesses the believer. “10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
“The body is dead because of sin.” Even if Christ is “in you,” the physical body is still destined for death. As far as God is concerned, that is a positional and present reality. You are already dead in the eyes of God “because of sin. This refers to original sin in Adam. Because of Adam’s sin (Rom. 5:12), we are all dead men walking. The body that houses your soul and spirit will never make it into eternity. It is part of the cursed first creation under the Adamic dominion that was given to Satan. This issue will become the focus of Romans 8:18-25 regarding the redemption of the body. The physical body must first be glorified (a new creation) before it can enter into “the regeneration.”
[1]Ron Powell, Th.D.; Philippine Baptist Mission, http://www.biblebelievers.com/powell1.html
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